This article is sponsored byPure Strategies。
可持续包装是企业可持续发展的基石问题。必威体育2018作为第一个环境问题的公司之一开始积极应对，兴趣和努力已经在过去几年显着复苏，部分原因是对海洋塑料的关注推动。
Then the pandemic hit, and the market changed — characterized by higher demand for single-use packages and bags, andlower availabilityof recycled materials.
当我们展望未来，我们是在路径上，以圆形和可持续发展system for packaging?
从纸与塑料可重复使用与单独使用
购物袋早已在可持续发展重点 - 从（纸更高）看着温室气体影响到垃圾（塑料有更多的必威体育2018挑战），并显著政策action. A shift away from a focus on single-use design emerged.学习指出，袋子被有效地再利用可以是最好的环境选择。
餐饮service and consumer goods companies also were exploring this shift to durable packages for reuse. Overone-thirdof the participating product and packaging companies reported to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment that they are testing such options. While the pandemic impacted momentum for reusables in shopping bags and food services (for various reasons), it did not stop the发展of these solutions for consumer goods.
学习指出，袋子被有效地再利用可以是最好的环境选择。
帮助开辟了步道TerraCycle的Loop程序。消费品牌与循环来进攻r products in a durable package that when empty, get collected in various channels, cleaned and sanitized by Loop, and then refilled by the manufacturer for another use. Such commercially cleaned reusable packages or consumer refillable packages are poised for growth, given their two-pronged benefits of hygiene and sustainability.
Recycling takes center stage
Reusable solutions are one path of a circular economy, but there is far more effort to advance another circular approach, recycling. Companies havemore goals为回收和再利用，并提高比其他包装问题再生内容设计。
设计可回收包装开始使用可回收材料。高露洁 - 棕榄redesignedits toothpaste tube to be made of high density polyethylene (HDPE), instead of the traditional mix of plastics and metal that is not recyclable. Another design strategy is to avoid mixing materials. Paper cups usually have unrecyclable plastic coatings.智慧地球技术developed a recyclable cup solution, and collaborative efforts such as theNextGen Cup Challengelikely will spur additional advances.
设计为可回收性，但是，是不是银弹。二手包需要回收。回收率通常已经在美国兴起，加起来约50的包装和容器％的being recycled。然而，在很大程度上是由纸和纸板（回收产品的75％）。Only about 13 percent of plastic packages被回收在美国添加到这一点，流行病导致了decrease在回收利用。
公司正在改善消费者沟通有关回收利用，比如使用How2Recycle标签。也有在发展循环基础设施和解决方案合作了难以回收项目的投资 - 如回收利用伙伴关系的倡议，该Materials Recovery for the Futureinitiative to increase film collection, the沉重的能源袋for chemical recycling, and the闭环合作伙伴资金回收能力的扩张。
To close the recycling loop, the recovered material needs to be used. While companies have committed to using it, fossil fuels prices were declining and then tanked during the pandemic, driving virgin plastic prices well below recovered plastic. The availability of recovered materials also decreased. Undoubtedly, companies will question their plans to increase recycled content in the current market.
To close the recycling loop, recovered material needs to be used.
Companies relying on recycling as the way to effectively manage their packaging after use have a responsibility to support the end market for recovered material by continuing to use recycled content. There will be obstacles withprice and availability, but they can be managed with measures such as investing in infrastructure development and design improvements (such as removing extra packaging material).
Seeing the forest for the trees
负责任的纤维采购目标是第一可持续包装目标中，有许多即将到期的2020年罗布劳超市采购通过回收利用或认证纤维在2018年达到了目标。宜家，宝洁和其他大多数公司的轨道上，以满足其2020年目标。尽管已经取得了进展，采购纤维负责任仍是太多的企业一定的差距。
消费品论坛和其他人也看到了需要采取的纤维采购到一个新的水平，达到超出了各公司的供应链，以景观水平的负责任的采购接近区域和支持基础设施和政策内吸引更多的供应商来获得一个“forest positive" approach.
Responsible sourcing also fits into climate strategies. With over 800 companies committed to setting以科学为基础的气候目标, impacts from packaging are being evaluated. Colgate Palmolive, General Mills andWalmart在他们的气候方案包括包装的改进。除了采购，减少包装材料的使用是有效的。由于这是一个节省成本的机会，它已经在可持续包装的核心方法。2010年以来，Procter & Gamblehad a 13.5 percent reduction in packaging material intensity and联合利华的减少18％。
创新空间
令人振奋的可持续包装的发展从目标出现，除去关注的化学品。COOP丹麦一马当先when the retailer stopped selling microwave popcorn until it could offer its private brand product without the harmful chemicals typically used on the inside of the bag. The new bag was not only free of the chemicals of concern but also became recyclable.
出现了在其他产品越来越努力消除这些润滑脂附着防止化学物质，称为per-和多氟化烷基被上基于纸的包装中使用的物质（PFAS）。虽然纸张必须是可回收的，在可持续包装联盟stated that intentionally added PFAS makes a package not widely recyclable, and Norway isset to ban它的使用。Footprintwas one of the first companies to offer fiber-based packages that are PFAS-free and certified compostable.
关于美国家庭的5％，有机会获得路边堆肥收集 - 从一个广泛使用的圆的解决方案很长的路要走。生物塑料，而有时可堆肥，可循环使用。在2009年，Coca-Cola发起了基于生物的30％聚对苯二甲酸乙酯（PET）制成的瓶子。到2015年，它有一个100 percent bio-basedPET bottle, as其它公司正在寻找这样做。进一步，生物基聚乙烯(PE) is found in recyclable rigid and flexible packages.
关于美国家庭的5％，有机会获得路边堆肥集合。
Sustainable packaging is not yet a reality, but there has been progress with reducing packaging weight, sourcing fiber responsibly and exciting developments in material health and bio-based options. There remains a notable gap in building a circular packaging system.
可重复使用的选项的不断涌现，但还是小众，并缩小与包装循环正面临着溢价为回收的材料和低回收率，特别对于塑料封装。此次推出的塑料新经济的承诺in 2018 spurred over 200 businesses, including the largest companies such as Walmart, Target, Nestle and Unilever to aim for 100 percent reusable, recyclable and compostable plastic packaging by 2025.
这些雄心勃勃的目标和相关的举措带来了广泛的合作和跨产业，带来希望的必要进步的成分：高效，安全设计，可靠来源的材料和一个圆形包装系统。
